It has been a while since I have seen a feature film worthy of reporting on in this space although I did watch two good documentaries on amazon prime. (See below) All of my film magazines that I check weekly spend at least 90% of the time talking about streaming materials. If the writers strike goes on too far that may be all there is to watch. I know there is a fair amount of feature film material set for theaters in the pipeline. It is hard to know if the strike will affect release dates since it depends on post-production stage.
The remake of The Little Mermaid has faced some push back. There has been a racist backlash surrounding Halle Bailey’s casting. Jonah Hauer-King her co-star responded that “…the producers and Disney didn’t approach this film and the casting with any kind of agenda, they just wanted to cast the person who was best for the role. Ultimately you want the person that has the best voice and the best spirit and the most charisma, charm and humor and best acting talent, that was Halle.” WELL SAID!
Natalie Portman and Julianna Moore star in Todd Haynes’ May, December which is set to premiere at Cannes on May 20. Portman plays an actress researching a character portrayed by Moore in order to play the character on film. The film is produced by Portman’s Mountain A production company.
You can find a copy of THR’s excellent interview of Natalie Portman at https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/natalie-portman-cannes-may-december-times-up-1235483130/
Martin Scorsese 2023 Cannes premiere is Killers of the Flower Moon, a historical epic with a 3 ½ hour runtime and a $200 million budget. Stars are Lily Gladstone, Leonard DiCaprio and Robert De Niro.
One of the documentaries I mentioned above is Alan Pakula: Going for Truth. The film encompasses the personal and professional life of Alan J. Pakula, a lauded filmmaker and extremely private man, who was unflinching in his commitment to bringing some of the most memorable movies of the last half of the 20th century to the big screen. Although his name is not recognized by many moviegoers, he was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Picture for To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), Best Director for All the President’s Men (1976) and Best Adapted Screenplay for Sophie’s Choice (1982) which he also produced.
Pakula produced and directed many otherwell known films including The Sterile Cuckoo, Klute, and The Pelican Brief. Other films he directed included Presumed Innocent (1990), and The Devil’s Own (1997), his last film.
The documentary features a number of stars who worked with Patula and have only high praise for the experience. I highly recommend this documentary for all cinephiles.
The other documentary that I found interesting was Last Night in New York. The film provided great insight into David Patrick Columbia, the New York society columnist (New York Social Diary). It does a very good job of having Columbia tell his story with personal anecdotes.
A 2023 feature film, now streaming, is Chantilly Bridge. It is basically a Senior chick flick but I was able to relate as the group rediscovers the unbreakable bond among friends who knew one another when and are there for one another now. I have been lucky enough to experience and be a member of a group of friends like that. Receiving high marks on both Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb the film has a well known cast. I’d give it a 80.
Now is a good time to catch up on films you have been meaning to view for the first time or again.
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